It is one of the enduring symbols of hockey, a symbol recognized all over the world.

The Stanley Cup is coming to The Blue Mountains this Saturday.

Craig Campbell knows, first-hand, how recognizable is the oldest trophy in major sports competition. He's one of the staff of the Hockey Hall of Fame, in Toronto, who get to travel with the Stanley Cup. Campbell has been on tour with the Cup across Canada and the U.S. and as far away as Japan, Finland, and the Czech Repbulic.

Actually, he explained, Mike Bolt is the man who gets to do most of the travel with Stanley, and the Hall of Fame's curator, Phil Pritchard, is often seen with it as well (Pritchard is the one who appeared in that credit card commercial with the Stanley Cup a few years ago).

It's also Pritchard who, since 1994, has had the honour of escorting the cup to centre ice for presentation to the winning team.

Campbell has had the opportunity to join Pritchard in that duty a few times. Although he always wishes he was a member of the winning team and in his goalie equipment -- he plays in a recreational league in Newmarket -- being there for the presentation is the next best thing.

 “It's a huge honour to be able to be able to walk it out with Phil Pritchard and be right there when the history unfolds, when the captain gives it the hoist and passes it on,” Campbell said. “The players take turns with it, their families are there. It's a very special series of moments.”

Campbell's primary job is manager of images at the Hall of Fame. He's responsible for collecting and cataloguing the thousands of photos, paintings, movies and video that are part of the Hall of Fame's image collection. The earliest photos are from the late 1800s, and there are some copies of paintings, from even earlier, that depict a game similar to hockey.

Now and then, he gets to travel with the Cup, and he and Pritchard are due to bring the Cup to the Beaver Valley Arena this Saturday.

Campbell grew up in Scarborough and played minor hockey there. He's a self-described “hockey nut” who jumped at the chance to work at the Hall of Fame and joined the staff in 1991.

His love of hockey is shared by the rest of his family. His wife joined a team this season and his son and one daughter play in organized leagues. His youngest daughter is taking skating lessons. It's too early to tell whether she'll be playing hockey one day, too.

He also has a family connection to The Blue Mountains. His mother-in-law, Edna Perrin, grew up in Ravenna and Campbell hopes to make a quick stop there, in her honour. Although she moved away several decades ago, Ravenna is part of the family history.

Next year promises to be a busy one. The HHOF is also the official archives for the International Ice Hockey Federation, which will celebrate its centennial in 2008.

Travel to other nations has shown Campbell that Canada still holds a special place in the hearts of hockey fans. He tells of a trip to China, for an IIHF tournament, and arriving at the arena with a Canadian referee. It was obvious, Campbell recalled, that the other referees, even those from high-powered hockey countries, put the Canadian official on a pedestal.

“Canada is always in a special place, partly because of what we are as a country, but because we're at a hockey event, it's a neat thing to see first-hand,” he said. “We're from the motherland of hockey.”

He's also seen how the Hockey Hall of Fame has become a worldwide entity. A few years ago, at another IIHF event, he was assigned to collect some memorabilia from a Russian player. The player spoke no English or French, and Campbell speaks no Russian. At first, the discussion was rather difficult, but then the player noticed the Hockey Hall of Fame logo on Campbell's jacket. After that, he was willing to hand over any piece of hockey gear Campbell wanted.

Seeing the way people of all ages react to the Cup, on visits to various communities, is also a great experience, Campbell said.

“It's a huge thrill. Everywhere you go with the Stanley Cup, you're surrounded by people that are happy,” he said. “People are thrilled to see it. People hold the Stanley Cup in such great reverence and great regard. What it represents historically, for the country, the players, the builders, everyone associated with hockey, is immense.”

Campbell and Pritchard will be conducting a slide presentation on the Cup during Saturday's visit at the Beaver Valley Community Centre. Their presentation is based on a book, Travels With Stanley, that documents the many communities in Canada, the U.S. and abroad, the Cup has visited.

Beaver Valley Athletic Association players and coaches will have a chance to visit the Cup, first, and then the doors will open to the public from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the day will go to the BVAA.

The visit is a thank you, from the National Hockey League's on-ice officials, for the town's help in holding their pre-season training camp here last September.